An East Coast tour for die-hard Hamilton fans

Numerous sites related to Alexander Hamilton can be found from Manhattan to Virgina.

James NeviusChicago Tribune

With the curtain set to rise on "Hamilton" at the PrivateBank Theatre Sept. 27, there's no better time to explore the haunts of America's hottest Founding Father.

Dotted along the East Coast from Manhattan to Virginia are numerous sites associated with Alexander Hamilton as soldier, statesman and private citizen. So, let's crank up the soundtrack and hit the road.

Our itinerary begins in Manhattan, where a young Hamilton stepped off the boat in the 1770s to "be a new man" (as the cast sings in the show's opening number). Today, most of the city Hamilton knew is gone, but some startling relics remain. (Note: while this is a driving trip, you should probably do the Manhattan sites without a car if you want to preserve your sanity.)

Begin in front of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, a magnificent beaux-arts structure from 1907 at One Bowling Green, which now houses the National Museum of the American Indian. The building faces tiny Bowling Green park (www.nycgovparks.org/parks/bowling-green), which was once home to a gilded equestrian statue of King George III. On July 9, 1776, patriots — led by Hamilton's buddy Hercules Mulligan — tore the statue down, so that it could be melted into bullets. The iron fence around the park dates to 1771, and its fence posts still bear the saw marks where newly minted Americans removed the royal finials.

A five-minute walk up Broadway leads to Trinity Church (www.trinitywallstreet.org) at the corner of Wall Street, home to Hamilton's final resting place. The tomb, topped by a marble obelisk, is in the south churchyard. His wife, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton — who outlived her husband by 50 years — is buried here as well; elsewhere in the cemetery, her sister Angelica and Hercules Mulligan are entombed (though not together).

Richard Drew / AP

Visitors at the cemetery of Trinity Church photograph the grave of Alexander Hamilton in New York.

Visitors at the cemetery of Trinity Church photograph the grave of Alexander Hamilton in New York. (Richard Drew / AP)

Lower Manhattan is home to a few other interesting sites associated with Hamilton. One block east on Wall Street from Trinity Church is Federal Hall National Memorial (www.nps.gov/feha), which stands on the spot of America's first capitol building and houses a few relics of that era. Three blocks north at 57 Maiden Lane, a plaque on the side of the modern building commemorates Thomas Jefferson's house. This was the site of the "Room Where it Happens," where Jefferson, Hamilton and James Madison reached the compromise that gave Hamilton wide economic leverage in exchange for giving up New York as the nation's capital.

Finally, head down to Fraunces Tavern (www.frauncestavernmuseum.org) at 54 Pearl St. Most of this building is a 1907 reconstruction, but the original tavern housed Hamilton's Treasury Department and hosted George Washington's farewell dinner. A small museum tells the story of the building.

Next, take the subway up to Harlem and St. Nicholas Park to visit Hamilton Grange National Memorial (www.nps.gov/hagr), which the Hamiltons built as their home in 1802, just two years before Hamilton's untimely death. As impressive as the house is, its odd history is equally compelling. Twice it has been lifted off its foundations and rolled to a new location. The building is run by the National Park Service, and rangers lead hourly tours. These fill up fast, so plan accordingly.

Take a 20-minute walk up St. Nicholas Avenue to see the Morris-Jumel Mansion (www.morrisjumel.org), which was briefly home to Hamilton's rival Aaron Burr and which hosted "Hamilton's" composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as he worked on parts of the musical. The house — the oldest in Manhattan — was also one of George Washington's headquarters in 1776.

Now it's time to get out of Manhattan.

Start the driving portion of your trip in Weehawken, N.J., site of the famous duel between Burr and Hamilton on July 11, 1804. There's not much to see here — a bust of Hamilton and a plaque in Hamilton Park (www.weehawken-nj.us/parks.html) — and completists should know that the actual site of the duel is unknown. But it's a quick stop on the way to Morristown, N.J., another 40 minutes west, and the Schuyler-Hamilton House (www.njdar.org/schuyler-hamilton.html).

It was here in 1779 that Alexander Hamilton courted Eliza. (Don't be confused that the house's signs refer to her as Betsy — in real life, Hamilton often did too.) The house is only open 2-4 p.m. Sundays, but at other times, you can see it from the outside, or you can call to arrange a tour on another day. Updates about opening hours are posted on the Facebook page, so check before you go if this is on your must-see list.

An hour's drive south of Morristown is Princeton University, Burr's alma mater, which refused to allow Hamilton an accelerated course of study. In the lyrics to the song "Aaron Burr, Sir," Miranda jokes that Hamilton's reaction to this news was to punch the bursar. That didn't actually happen, but Hamilton was certainly peeved and instead attended King's College — now Columbia University — in New York, which put him closer to the action when the war broke out.

Hamilton extracted his revenge on Princeton during the Revolution; at the Battle of Princeton in 1777, he lobbed cannonballs at Nassau Hall, the university's oldest building, forcing the British inside to surrender. Learn more about the conflict at Princeton Battlefield State Park (www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/princeton.html), 1 1/2 miles south of the university.

Head another hour south from Princeton, and you'll find yourself in Philadelphia, home to perhaps the most famous site associated with early America: Independence Hall.

As a member of the Constitutional Convention, Hamilton argued in these chambers for his federalist ideals — in the musical, he and Burr narrate it in the song "Non-Stop" — and it was here that Hamilton convinced the fledgling government to move to New York. Manhattan lasted as the capital for less than two years after Washington's inauguration, and Hamilton found himself back in Philadelphia as treasury secretary. Though the musical doesn't make this clear, it was in this city that he began his affair with Maria Reynolds ("Say No to This," "The Reynolds Pamphlet"), which derailed his political ambitions.

For that reason, while Washington, D.C., did become the nation's capital during Hamilton's lifetime, he has no real associations with the city. Instead, our next stop is a 5 1/2-hour drive deep into Thomas Jefferson's Virginia.

Head first to the site of the Battle of Yorktown, centerpiece of one of the musical's most arresting songs, "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)." Grab a map at the visitors center at Yorktown Battlefield (www.nps.gov/york) — where you shouldn't miss the exhibit with George Washington's tents — then follow directions to Redoubt No. 10, where Hamilton's company overwhelmed the British. This key skirmish (in which Hamilton's troops rushed the British with unloaded guns and fixed bayonets to disguise their approach) led to the ultimate American victory over Gen. Charles Cornwallis and the end of the war.

If you are in the area on a Sunday, the nearby custom house in Yorktown (www.comtedegrasse-dar.org/customhouse.html) is staffed that day by volunteers from the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is particularly rich in Marquis de Lafayette memorabilia.

Truth be told, Hamilton-mania hasn't really spread this far south, but change is in the air. This fall, the Yorktown Victory Center (www.historyisfun.org) will rebrand itself as the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, expanding its physical size and the scope of its mission. One new addition will be interactive exhibits on Hamilton.

Similarly, nearby Colonial Williamsburg (www.colonialwilliamsburg.org) — which should be on the itinerary of any Revolutionary War fan — has long had re-enactors who portray Jefferson, Lafayette and Patrick Henry. This fall, they'll add an Alexander Hamilton to the mix.

Fall means sweater weather, crunchy leaves, bonfires and family time. Take the season to explore the great outdoors while temperatures are crisp and the summer crowds have dispersed. We've rounded up 12 rentals available on popular home-sharing websites that are perfect for an autumn weekend getaway. From a remodeled train car remodel to a cozy Victorian, there is something for every taste and preference. Prices are listed per-night and may vary by date.